I never play tag with great whites... much too dangerous (especially if they are hungry... or annoyed).
Seriously... I was involved in a scientific expedition to tag great whites off Guadalupe Island back in 2005. The lead scientist was Dr. Michael Domeier of National Geographic/Shark Men "fame." At that time he was using lances to affix tags to the great whites by piercing them from a small boat as they swam by. It seemed to be nothing more than a minor irritant to the tagged sharks.
His current work as witnessed on National Geographic bothers me greatly. To use a large hook to catch the great whites, play them until they are exhausted, then raise them up on a platform where their massive body weight undoubtedly compresses the internal organs, attach a tag using bolts through holes drilled into the dorsal fin all concerns me. That the initial "study" was allowed in the Farallons where they should be protected concerns me. The impact on other longer term and less invasive studies there on great whites is also of concern.
I understand the desire to affix a more permanent tag to the shark for longer-term studies of their movement. The previous tags inserted via lance did not last as long as desired, but at least were far less invasive to the shark. There has been some interesting data gathered from this and other great white monitoring studies that will help us understand their life history. However, I think Domeier and the crew need to go back to the lab and consider altering the current procedures substantially.
I have only seen the first National Geographic documentary on this project, and not any of the "Shark Men" episodes. In the first one, the work seemed primarily centered around creating something interesting for the camera. Other than Domeier, the crew involved did not appear to have any significant background in shark research. Several were sport fishers (nothing wrong with an angler... just not the qualifications I'd look for if I were putting together an expedition to study sharks).
